Tabitha Chirrick - Overshadowed

“There you all are,” Shy said.

Tayel squeezed into the cramped space behind the co-pilot’s chair to make room for Fehn and Jace.

“So what’s the plan?” Fehn asked.

“We have to find my brother. If he’s here.” Shy disengaged the auto-pilot and took hold of the yoke.

“What about the Delta shuttle?” Tayel asked.

“Don’t worry. Assuming it made it here at all, my brother will likely know where it is. It’s a good bet, at least. Better than wandering aimlessly in the snow.”

“Makes sense,” Jace said.

Tayel gripped the back of the co-pilot’s chair as the floor angled with the ship’s descent. If Jace’s parents were here, he could finally be safe. They could bunker down somewhere — maybe fly to the core systems to escape the war. Once they were reunited, though, would she want to stay with him? After everything she’d seen, she didn’t know if she could sit idly by and wait for Shy and her brother to stop the Rokkir.

“We’re going to break atmo,” Shy said. “There are harnesses in the hold if you need them, but the ride should be relatively smooth.”

No one left the cockpit. Shy steered through the atmosphere, forcing Tayel to plant her feet for stability. The risk of falling over was worth it for the view. Monotone white became complex and textured as they descended. Mountain ranges, frozen lakes, and pine forests covered the ground between expansive valleys of snow.

“Wow. How are you going to find your brother in all this?” Jace asked.

“His contact lives in Kalanie Outpost. It’s where we’ll start our search, and with any luck it’s where we’ll end it.” Shy pushed a button, and a glowing blue holographic map of Modnik appeared above the console. A red dot appeared on the globe.

Jace leaned in past the gap between two chairs to squint at it. “That’s a comprehensive globe. There are even resource markers on here.”

“My ship’s system has a detailed planetary and mining map for all planets in Igador.” The map disappeared, but coordinates remained on the dashboard.

“But the Varg are very reclusive. They wouldn’t just give away maps of their entire planet, right?”

Shy smirked.

The ship passed over a forest. Tayel put her hand over her mouth. A town crumbled in the valley below, orange flames licking at the last of the buildings. Raiders in typical Sinosian gear stood beyond the reach of the fire, staring back at their destruction. The soot-filled remains had probably housed hundreds of Varg, but nothing signaled survivors.

“It’s awful,” Jace said.

“Let’s hope it’s not too late to find your brother,” Fehn said.

Tayel picked at the gauze around her burn, unable to imagine the anguish and pain from a death by fire. Not like Mom. Falling wasn’t so bad, in comparison. With all the horrors the Rokkir were committing, maybe it was good she died so quickly.

Jace shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“What?” Shy asked.

“If the Rokkir are the ones doing this — killing people here and even back on Delta, why are they keeping the refugees alive on Elsha?”

“For military recruits. You saw what they did to those refugees. They’ll turn them all into mindless slaves eventually.”

“Looks like they already have plenty of forces to me,” Fehn said. “If they can do this.”

They passed the view of the fire as the ship accelerated toward a distant forest. The black sky above was filled with stars.

“They have the whole Igador government on lockdown, too,” Tayel said. “From the Council to, xite, the raiders. What more do they really need to take over?”

“Let’s just focus on one thing at a time,” Shy said.

They flew through the clear sky, witnessing one destroyed village after another. No one had escaped the chaos. Small cities were either ashen skeletons or still-burning wrecks, but no Varg wandered in the snow. The planet was deserted. Tayel braced herself as they ascended over a mountain range. The coordinates on the dashboard ticked closer to their destination.

“Xite.” Shy pulled back the throttle to bring her ship to a hovering standstill above the range.

Fehn leaned forward. “Is that—?”

“It’s Kalanie Outpost.”

The small city burned below. Hundreds of raiders assailed the walls surrounding the closely huddled buildings, where trails of fire ate away at the wood and stone. Varg — like tiny ants from this height — manned the walls, attacking the onslaught below.

“We have to help them!” Jace said.

Movement in the sky turned Tayel’s attention upward. Three ships beelined toward them. “Shy!”

“Dammit. Hold onto something,” Shy said.

Tayel gripped the back of the co-pilot’s chair as the ship accelerated. Jace toppled backward, but Fehn caught him mid-fall. The artificial muscles in his cyonic flexed as he tightened his grip on a handhold dangling an inch from the low ceiling.

Back-facing external cameras playing feed over the console showed both opposing ships fire long arcs of dark aether toward them. Shy swerved left, but not fast enough to avoid a direct hit. Electric shimmers erupted over the shields. The floor shuddered.

Tayel hugged the back of the chair as the ship took a hard right turn. Her feet slipped. Her fingers gave a little, weakened by the pull. She couldn’t stay standing. Shy leveled out and Tayel took the opportunity to stumble into the co-pilot’s chair, bracing herself against the console as the shields shuddered at another hit. The sharp metal grooves of inactive buttons bit into her arm as she resisted the pull of another tight turn.

Jace squawked, and something hard thudded against the wall. Tayel whipped around. Jace seemed fine, but Fehn gripped the back of his head, his face screwed up in pain.

Shy kept the ship level but sped up. Tayel could feel the speed in her bones.

“Go get in the harnesses!” Shy yelled. “I can keep us steady for a few moments, but hurry!”

“Got it,” Fehn grunted. He shuffled quickly toward the hold, gesturing for Jace to follow.

Tayel planted her feet on the even ground and pushed to a stand.

Shy snapped at her, “What are you doing ?”

“H-harnesses are—”

“There is a perfectly good harness in that seat, Tayel!” She swore as she veered left. An arc of dark aether zipped overhead, and Tayel sat right back down.

Two straps dangled about her shoulders. She fumbled with them both, her hands slipping against the fabric. Each buckle clipped into place with a chunk, and she pulled on the strap to tighten the harness across her chest and hips. The whole ship trembled as an explosion erupted over the shield.

“Oh, Alhyt.” Shy pulled a mic from among the dangling equipment above her. “You two strapped in?”

A beat, and then Fehn’s voice crackled in reply, “Yeah, good to go.”

“Good.” She let the mic go, and it snapped back into place.

She pulled on the yoke, and the ship tilted toward the sky. Tayel’s body became lighter, lifting slightly out of the chair. They faced straight up toward space, but Shy didn’t stop. Tayel’s eyes widened. She tried to press herself back into the chair, but the ship angled past ninety degrees, turning upside down. A mixture of elation and fear rose in her chest as Jace’s cries echoed from the hallway. Jace’s cries, and Fehn’s laughter .

Shy leveled out behind two of their assailants and thumbed the hat switch on the yoke, steering the ship’s gimbal into alignment. A visualization of the underside weaponry recommended a trajectory on the console, but Shy’s focus on the equipment pulled her attention away from the sky. The third enemy ship dove at them from the side.